The Beauty of Once upon a time
by Susuki6789
Summary: Once upon a time James was beautiful. And once upon a time Kendall had a dream. Now, James is scarred by appearance and Kendall only has his family to live for. Once upon a time the beauty was the beast and the beast was the beauty. Can James learn to trust again? Can Kendall learn to love again? The answers are only for them to find. Once upon a time starts now.
1. The Beginning

**Hi Guys! **

**I have a new story! And I keep starting new ones! I don't know why ;/ Anyway**** I want to share with you guys that I have been nominated for ****_2014 BTR FF AWARDS!_**** And I'm hoping that all of you will support me. Fanfic has really helped me with everything that's been going on in my life and it's an honor being nominated and just being recognized.**

**Thank you to those of you who nominated me and thank you for thinking of me.**

**I love you guys and I hope this is a good year for all of you.**

**I hope you guys like this story and please check out my other stories :)**

* * *

**The Beginning**

James paced quickly down the winding stairs. His shoes ticked on the old stone floors and the small windows let in beams of light from the cheerful summer day outside. He scowled at the joviality of the day as he finally reached the bottom floor of his house, if you could call it that. He had inherited the mansion from a long line of family members, whom he had never even met.

It was three stories tall and looked like something out of a book of fairy tales. In a secluded spot, the general public did not often see its beauty. The outside of the home was decorated with flowers and plants, most of which James had never even seen. His housekeeper, Carlos Garcia, took care of most everything, including the surrounding grounds. The first floor consisted of the opening hallway, with two winding stairs reaching up to the second floor. Also on the bottom floor was the kitchen, very large and modern in comparison to the medieval house, the dining room, and the living room. The living room was the largest room of the house and held the beautiful grand piano facing the large bay windows that were never open, and a magnificent fireplace. Up the winding stairs held the second floor, with bedrooms and bathrooms; and up the single winding staircase, the attic.

James sat down at the old piano and began playing. The music drifted through the house as Carlos walked down the stairs, watching him play for a while, before interrupting him. He cleared his throat loudly and James stopped playing.

"James, it's getting late," Carlos said. James stayed silent for a moment.

"Go to bed, Carlos. I'm not ready to go to bed." James instructed. Carlos watched his slim back slouch over the keys of the piano as he wiped invisible pieces of dust off of them.

"Alright" Carlos turned and left the room, leaving James behind.

It was midnight when James heard the quiet voices. The house had long gone dark; but he preferred the dark. The voices were unmistakably children's voices. They were whispered and at one of the bay windows in the living room. James sighed and walked over to the large windows. He opened them quickly and the whispering children gasped and turned to face him with eyes wide with fear. They stood in pure fright, unable to move or speak.

"Get out of here," James growled. The children screamed and ran away from his scarred and pale face.

"Breakfast is ready," Carlos s cheery voice penetrated his sleep-clogged mind and the bright morning sun broke through the barrier his eyelids created. He opened one eye to see Carlos pulling back the blinds, letting in the bright morning sun. He turned his head away and growled.

"It's nothing I haven't seen before, Sir," Carlos laughed and walked back downstairs. James sighed before swinging out of bed and getting dressed.

He stepped into the dining room to see his breakfast laid out before his usual seat.

"You're too good to me, Carlos," James chuckled. Carlos poked his head out of the kitchen doorway.

"With how much you pay me, I'm not good enough and I never will be," he smiled.

"You deserve every penny." James sat and ate. He had inherited a large amount of money and would never have to work a day in his life, for that he was thankful. Years before he had hired Carlos as a housekeeper, butler, groundskeeper, and more. Carlos did an amazing job and was paid more than most doctors made. He was also allowed a free room and food.

"Aren't you going to come join me?" James called out as he ate his food.

"Sorry, need go to the store. Speaking of which-"

"I'll fill out the check," James said with a mouth full of bacon.

"Thank you," Carlos shouted from inside the kitchen.

As soon as he was done eating he went to the piano and got to work.

* * *

Kendall finished unpacking the last of the boxes and moved to get dinner ready. He prepared some steaks and potatoes with biscuits. He set the three plates down and called for his baby sister and his brother.

"Katie, Logan! Dinner is ready!" he yelled out the door. He heard a few goodbyes from the back entrance and then his sister appeared in the back door. Logan came down the stairs, yawning and scratching his belly. They all sat down and started to eat.

"Make some new friends?" Kendall asked as he chewed steak.

"Yeah, a couple. Apparently there's a monster here, if it's true, I'm gonna be stinken rich!" Katie said. Kendall raised an eyebrow.

"A monster?" he tried not to laugh.

"Apparently. The other kids saw it last night!" Katie said.

"Uh huh... and where does this monster live?" Logan asked wiping sand away from his eyes

"Down the street, in that big house," Katie said, swallowing her food.

"If a monster has that much money, he has the right to be a monster," Kendall laughed. Katie rolled his eyes and continued eating.

"Well, its something and maybe I can make something out of it." Katie said.

"Such a business woman." Logan commented.

"Not as good as you, Doctor." Kendall smiled.

A year ago Kendall's mother lost to the battle of breast cancer and Kendall had to start taking care of her twelve-year-old sister. Kendall's older brother was living with them at the time and he suggested that they move and change the scenery. California had too many bad memories, with their father abusing and abandoning them and their mother passing away, they needed a fresh start and Minnesota provided that. The quiet state was a perfect start. Here, Logan was a fellow at Minnesota's number one hospital; he was the best plastic surgeon in town. Katie was the brilliant twelve-year-old girl, who was already in her sophomore year and Kendall the country's best hockey coach.

After dinner, Katie and Kendall got ready for bed, while Logan got ready to go to work. Kendall took a shower. Once he stepped out of the hot shower and wiped the steam off the mirror he studied himself. He was six feet tall with well-defined muscle. Not like a bodybuilder, but well enough so that when he flexed you could see the work he put into keeping his body fit. His brown hair was wet from his shower but was cut short and clean. His green eyes reflected the light and made them glow. He studied himself for a moment before nodding.

_'I can get a man_,' he told himself. He dried himself off and looked down at his flaccid member. He ten looked down at his abdomen. "It'll all get better."

* * *

Carlos returned a short time later with groceries that he put away quickly. He moved on to clean the house and do the laundry. When he was finished with his duties around the house, he went to find James.

"James, any requests for dinner tonight?"

James sat in the living room at the piano, the room was dark and the curtains were drawn tight. "No," James said bitterly. Carlos sighed and moved over to the windows to opened the curtains. "Hey!" James growled.

"You can't just sit here and pout all day. Go outside, do something. Everyday it's the same old thing," Carlos said.

"Do I look like I could go do something in public?" James asked. Carlos stared at his scarred face.

"Yeah, just don't let the people get to you," Carlos said.

"Liar," James growled. He stroked one of the longer scars on his face in thought.

"You have nearly a whole continent of land. Maybe don't go in public, but at least go outside," Carlos pleaded.

"For once Carlos, mind your own damn business and get back to work," James huffed. Carlos stared at him for a moment before leaving the room.

He stopped at the entrance and without turning said, "just because you have a messed up face doesn't mean you have a messed up life."

James stared at the pearly white keys of the piano silently. He stood and went up to his room, without dinner. He quickly stripped and crawled into bed, falling asleep quickly.

_"Come on baby, just give me a few bucks," Jett begged._

_"I told you, I don't feel comfortable giving you money," James returned, as he wrote down another note._

_"Why not? You have tons and all you do is sit here all day and write music!" Jett stood and paced the room with boredom._

_"Fine, what do you want to do?" James put down the pen and paper, and closed the piano._

_"I don't know lets go clubbing or something," Jett suggested. James grimaced._

_"Alright fine." He stood to go find something to wear._

_"Why do you always have that attitude?" Jett growled as he walked away._

_"I don't mean to, it's just that I always have to do something that you want to do. And if I don't, I have to give you money so you can go do it without me. Why don't you ever want to do something that I like?" James turned in the doorway to face him._

_"Well what do you want to do?" Jett crossed his arms._

_"Lets play music; I can teach you how to play piano or I can teach you how to sing! Or we could go outside and have a picnic, or watch a movie, or something," James shrugged._

_"What are you forty? You're twenty for Christ's sake, you're supposed to be out partying and getting laid," Jett made a dancing motion._

_"Is that what you do when I don't want to go with you? Just go get laid by someone else?" James glared._

_"That's not what I meant," Jett rolled his eyes._

_"Whatever," James turned. Jett grabbed his arm and spun him around._

_"Don't walk away from me like that," he growled._

_"You're hurting me."_

_"Good." James twisted out of his grip and rubbed his arm. "Now go get dressed, we're going out," Jett grinned._

_"I don't feel like going right now," James sighed. He could feel a bruise forming on his upper arm._

_"Why the hell not?" Jett glared at him._

_"I just don't, you know I don't like it when you get rough with me, Char," James said. His head whipped around and the smack echoed in the room. It took a moment before he could feel the stinging pain in his cheek, his eyes filled with water and he looked up at Jett._

_"I don't give a shit what you like or don't like, now go get dressed. We're leaving in twenty minutes," Jett growled and left the room. James stood stunned, holding his cheek, which was throbbing with pain._

_"Are you alright, sir?" Carlos entered the room. James nodded silently._

_"Go get dressed, Sir. I'll get you an ice pack," Carlos frowned._

_"You're too good to me, Carlos," James whispered his usual thanks when Carlos did something kind._

"James!"

James bolted up and felt Carlos shaking him, he was in his night clothes and looked worried. He could feel himself sweating and tears fell from his eyes.

"You were having another nightmare, Sir," Carlos said quietly. James swallowed and looked at the clock, four a.m.

"Thank you, Carlos. Go on back to bed, I'm going to stay up," James said. Carlos sighed and stared at him a moment longer, worried.

"Alright. Feel free to wake me if you need anything." Carlos walked back to bed and James rubbed his face, feeling each of the individual scars.

Getting up, he headed towards the master bathroom and stepped into a hot shower. He hissed as the water burned his skin but soon relaxed into the sensation of the hot water trickling down his back. He took his time and by the time he got out of the shower it was five thirty. He climbed down the stairs to see that Carlos was already up and had a pot of coffee made. He grabbed a cup and sipped it.

"So I was thinking. Maybe we could go out today, there are a bunch of baby ducks swimming around the pond behind the mansion," Carlos said casually.

"Not going to happen, Carlos." James turned away from him. He heard Carlos sigh and pour himself another cup of coffee.

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Please please please review :)

Love you guys

Susuki


	2. The Legend

Thank you angelrescue02, 4ever with Kames, thesandbar, itsallguchicauseyolo, LoveSparkle, Chey21 for the wonderful reviews. I loved reading every single one of them! I was so blown away that you guys actually liked this story!

Thank you so much for your support and on with the story!

* * *

**Chapter 2**

"Kendall, I need to go to the store, I need those big cardboard display boards" Katie came bouncing onto the living room couch as Kendall sipped his coffee.

"Sure, give me a few minutes to change." Kendall replied. Kendall worked with the Hockey teach at Minnesota University and when it wasn't hockey season, he was working with Katie's school. It was a fulfilling job. And if he was ever low on income, Kendall turned to his alternate job, his handy man gig. It was useful growing up.

The store was only a few minutes away, but Katie had a tendency to get lost when she was thinking and more than one Kendall or Logan had to go on a man hunt looking for the little girl. No matter what grade she was in, she was still only twelve. Sides their mother was always with her when they went out.

"Kendall!" She said all of a sudden.

"Yeah?" Kendall asked.

"That guy over there, short, black hair, muscular. He works for the supposed monster," Katie said.

"Huh?" Kendall asked.

"The man in the car, he works for the guy in the mansion," Katie repeated. With the car window rolled down he could see the man in his white shirt and black vest, almost mimicking a uniform.

'_Damn, the guy is rich enough to have a butler?_' he thought to himself. "So who is this 'monster'?" Kendall asked.

"Well, according to my research." Katie began.

Kendall gave her a skeptical look, they'd only been in town for a few days, there was no way Katie had enough time to use her resources and come up with any sort of information using her 'research'.

"Fine, I asked one of those kids that were messing with the front of his door. They were throwing rocks at the window, trying to see the monster and I asked one of them. They said that he's never come out, but legend has it-"

Kendall gave Katie another skeptical look.

"Fine, a couple of years back, don't know how many, but apparently there was this really beautiful boy that came to live here and then one day that boy stopped coming out. The kids think that the 'monster' might have eaten this beautiful boy and to avenge this beautiful boy, the kids throw stones at the window in his boy's memory." Katie explained.

"Wow. Kids sure have a vivid imagination. And don't believe everything people say. And don't-"

"Judge a book by its cover. Kendall we grew up in the house full of appearances, don't you think I'd know that by now?"

"I know that you know, but please don't try and make any money out of this 'legend,' the poor guy might just want some peace and quiet." Kendall reasoned.

Katie blew a breath of disappointment. "You and mom. This is why Logan's my favorite big brother."

"Hey!" Kendall gasped in mock shock. "I will not hesitate to tickle you." Kendall smirked.

"If you can catch me!" Katie said, and made a beeline for the store.

**Line Break**

James finished up his latest music piece early and was about to crawl into bed. He was always tried, not like he did anything strenuous with his body, it was only his hands and his mind and the occasional feet. There was once a time where James prided himself in his physique, but that was once upon a time ago. Now all James had left was his music. James crawled into bed when he heard the hushed whispers again. He sighed and rubbed his temples.

"Why can't these damn kids just leave me alone?" he grumbled to himself. He walked downstairs in the dark and heard them at the front door. He cursed and opened the door; they sat there much like they had a few nights back, wide eyed and jaw slacked.

"Get out of here!" he growled. They screamed and ran back down the steps and around the fountain. While running one of the young boys looked back, and in the process tripped over a rock. The other kids left him there and kept running. He began crying and even in the dark James could see the blood.

"Ugh," he sighed. He looked around before stepping outside and down the steps. It had been so long since he had been outside the breeze felt unusual. He stepped closer to the kid who turned around onto her back and looked up at him with fear. Her knee was badly cut from where she had fallen on the hard cement and the edge of his shorts were stained with blood.

"Come on, kid. Lets get you cleaned up," he sighed. The kid stared, jaw open, unable to speak from the shock.

"Look, I'm not going to hurt you. Just get up and I'll help you," James said, frustrated. The kid slowly stood up, trying not to put weight on her leg. James picked her up and carried her inside his house.

"Carlos, get down here," he yelled. He heard Carlos 's feet on the floor above and in a moment he was dressed and downstairs.

"James?" he asked when he saw the small girl. James had sat her on the couch and was standing there awkwardly.

"Carlos, will you get the first aid kit, please?" James asked. Carlos nodded and disappeared. He came back, white-gloved hands holding the first aid kit. He knelt in front of the girl and with a smile began cleaning the cut. The girl flinched when he touched him with the cloth.

"I'm Carlos, what's your name?"

"Katie," she whispered. "I'm really sorry. I wasn't there to harass anyone. I'm new in town and well, I…I got curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat." James muttered.

"I'm not a cat. I'm sorry for disturbing you. I really didn't mean to. I was trying to get them stop from making a hole in your window." Katie explained. Did you know you could make a makeshift catapult with the tree branches in the front yard, they almost had everything set up, before I got here." Katie tried to explain.

"What?!" James said, hurrying away from the living room and going out side to see if what Katie was saying was true or not.

Carlos let out a chuckle. "That's James, he's all bark and no bite," Carlos winked at Katie. Katie smiled and Carlos wrapped her knee in gauze. He picked her up and gently put her on the floor, making sure that Katie adjusted to the pressure on her leg.

"I'm really sorry again." Katie said. If her mother was here, she would not be happy with the turn of events. Kendall wouldn't be happy either.

"Carlos!" James yelled coming back into the room. "She's right! They did make a catapult!" Je was almost shrieking.

"Does he always talk like that." Katie asked.

Carlos couldn't help but laugh. T had been so long since he'd had company other than James, and this little girl had so much life and wit. It was a breath of fresh air. "Only when he's really wound up and tired." Carlos explained. "Do you think you can get home by yourself?" Carlos asked.

"Let me try." Katie let go of Carlos' arm and tried to walk by herself, "Yeah, I think I'll manage." She said. "I'm really sorry again, James. Thank you Carlos." Katie said, with a smile. And wobbled herself to the front door. "Good night!" She called, opening the door.

"Katie, wait!" Carlos called out after her. "It's like, midnight. Do your parents even know you're here this late at night?" Carlos pried.

"Um…" Not exactly. He didn't have parents. Logan was at work and Kendall was probably in bed, and they were her brothers, not her parents…well they were her legal guardians. "Um…" Katie repeated.

Carlos nodded already expecting the answer. "I'll take you home." Carlos grabbed his keys and his coat. "I'll be back soon, Sir. You'll be alright won't you?" Carlos asked. James nodded silently.

Katie got one more glimpse of the heavily scarred man and quickly looked away. She had a feeling that she had just made the worst first impression of her life!

**Line Break**

Kendall heard a knock at the door and looked over to see what time it was. The clock showed midnight and Kendall growled. "Who the hell would be knocking at midnight? I don't even know anyone here, yet," Kendall cursed as he pulled on a shirt. He quickly hurried down the steps and opened the door to see a well dressed man, the 'monster's' butler and Katie, leaning on his, with her leg slightly arched.

"Katie? What are hell are you doing up? When did you leave the house?!" he asked his sister. Katie remained silent. It wasn't good when Kendall was angry. There could be a lot of shouting and a lot of worrying.

Carlos coughed slightly. "Excuse me for knocking so late," the man apologized.

"Of course, you were helping my sister. What exactly was she doing out?" Kendall asked. _Mom how did you handle this with the three of us? _Kendall gave Katie the death glare.

"Yes, my name is Carlos. I work down at Mr. Diamond's house," Carlos introduced himself. Kendall shook his gloved hand.

_'So that's the name of the rich guy.'_ Kendall thought. "Kendall Knight."

"Yes well, it seems Mr. Diamond caught some kids outside his house and Katie claims that she was trying to stop the other kids from destructing the house." Carlos cleared his throat, James didn't need to tell him what happened, it had happened before and it would again.

"Jesus," Kendall rubbed his temples. "I am so, so sorry." Kendall sighed. "Well, considering, I don't think she'd lie. She's never really had friends her own age, before. I mean, I thinks that if she finds a common interest with some of the kids her own age, she'll make friends, but the kids here had this legend or something and I think Katie was just trying to get to the bottom of things. She's really curious."

"Hey! I can make friends!" Katie defended.

"Name one that isn't my age or Logan's age." Kendall challenged.

Katie turned her head to Carlos. "How old are you Carlos?" She asked.

"I'm 29." He answered, amused.

"Ha! Not your age or Logan's!" Katie said, triumphantly

"I was thinking somewhere along the lines of teens." Kendall let out a sigh. "Go to your room. I'll deal with you in bit." Katie sighed and limped upstairs.

Carlos chuckled. Katie and her brother were very similar. But wait… As soon as Katie wa out of sight "Legend?" Carlos asked. Kendall looked embarrassed.

"Uh, yes. Well the kids think that, Mr. Diamond is a... uh... monster," Kendall cringed at the word. Carlos smiled but it hardly reached his eyes. It showed sadness and irritation, and a little bit of anger.

"Yes, that is a popular one," he muttered so quietly Kendall almost didn't hear him.

"I'm so sorry about this," Kendall repeated. "Is Mr. Diamond alright?"

"Oh yes, he will be fine. Things like this happen quite often, actually," Carlos spoke.

"Again, really sorry," Kendall continued to apologize. Carlos stood and the two men shook hands again.

"No harm done, I hope Katie's knee isn't too bad," Carlos smiled. Kendall showed him out and the two said goodbye. As soon as the door was closed Kendall stormed up to Katie 's room.

"What the hell were you thinking? You broke onto his property, and spied on the man?" Kendall shouted. "Jesus, I thought I had raised you better than that, Katie n!"

"I was stopping the other kids from ruining his house! Katie defended.

"Sure, you say that! But it still looks bad! Can you imagine how Mr. Diamond feels?" Kendall shouted. Katie lowered her head and pouted. Kendall sighed and sat on the bed to hug her. "That wasn't okay, Katie. Tomorrow, after school, I want you to go and apologize to him, again." Kendall scolded. Katie nodded. "And how did you get out of the house without me noticing?"

"The three branch outside my window." Katie said quietly.

"WHAT! That's even more dangerous! What were you thinking!" He yelled.

"Figure out where the legend came from, then sell the story…" Katie said quietly.

Kendall pinched the bridge of his nose. "Katie look, we don't need the money right now. Logan and I have steady jobs, there are no hospital bills to pay anymore, we don't have a mortgage and your schooling is free because I work there. We don't need to save and work like before. So please. Please just be a normal teenager and do normal teenage things." He begged.

"Kendall, I'm almost four years younger than my class! How the heck do I do normal teenage stuff, if no one wants to be my friend?!" Katie yelled back.

"I don't know, but not trespassing on someone else's property is a start!"

* * *

Please review :)

Love you guys

Susuki


	3. The Savior

**Thank you LoveSparkle, , Chey21, GrayAngel13 and annabellex2 for the amazing reviews and I hope you all enjoy this chapter :)  
**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Katie came home at exactly four pm. Her thin arms were full of books and her bag was over flowing with paper. These private schools sure knew how to make their students busy. And this was Katie's first year and she was the youngest and smallest person in her class, okay, maybe not the smallest, but certainly the youngest. Kendall had gotten off work early, so he was able to bring Katie back home, it was fulfilling to be needed. Katie walked in, her bag hitting the floor and her body flopping on the couch. Her messy chocolate hair sprayed across the orange couch.

"Don't bother taking your shoes off, we are just about to leave," Kendall called out when he heard Katie get inside the house. He heard her sister sigh and drop her face in the couch.

"Do I have to?" Katie whined. "I already said sorry like a bazillion times!"

"Yes, you promised and we Knights never break promises," Kendall said. Katie did as he was told and slowly moved up. She groaned and moaned protests, unwilling to shuffle her feet to the exit.

"I already said sorry, like a million times!" Katie defended.

"Well, then you might as well go and give him a cake or a pie or something. I made mom's famous snicker doodles; take them as a peace offering. Maybe that way, Carlos and James won't hate us."

"You care way too much of what people think of us." Katie grunted.

Soft footsteps descended down the padded carpet followed by a tired yawn. Logan's hair crumpled in all directions, giving way to his innocent, boyish looks. He rubbed his eyes and scratched his stomach as he made his way down. "I heard something about snicker doodles." He grinned. He was never able to resist his mother's cookies, they were the absolute best and the simplest to make. It would be even better if she made them herself.

"Good afternoon big brother." Katie laughed. "Hey, wanna go to that huge mansion? Kendall's making me take the snicker doodles, as a peace offering."

"Peace offering? Why?" Logan questioned, looking suspiciously over to Kendall.

"Katie was trespassing and got hurt. Carlos, the housekeeper brought her home and I don't think they like us very much." Kendall trailed off, in thought.

Logan furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance. "Why do we need people to like us?"

Kate spread her hands out and then slapped her forehead "Thank you! That's what I said!" She all but yelled.

Kendall gave her an evil look and then glared at Logan for his attitude. "We need to make a good impression. We started over, that also means _actually_ making friends. And Carlos seems like a nice guy and I haven't met James yet, but I'm sure he's nice too." Kendall reprimanded.

Katie snorted, not at all impressed with the things Kendall was sprouting. She was her own person and she already said sorry, like a billion times! And she was really helping the guys out! And still she needed to give a peace offering!

"So, what'd ya say Big bro numero duex? Wanna come with?" Katie asked, begging him with her eyes.

Logan chuckled, like he'd ever be able to resist that. "As long as I get a few snicker doodles, I'm up for anything."

"Great!" Kendall smiled. He walked towards the door, expecting Katie and Logan to follow to follow. He checked himself to make sure he had the house keys and turned back to take one more look at the house. Then his eyes landed on Logan. "Logie?"

"Yeah?"

"Go put on some pants."

Logan looked down, as did Katie. "Oh shit!" he said, running up the stairs yelling that he'd only be a minute.

"And he's the doctor!" Katie laughed.

* * *

The walk to the house was short but seemed shorter for Katie. She groaned, as the house grew taller and taller, until finally they were at the front door. Kendall held the plate for the two residents of the large magical mansion, while Logan just stood at the other side of Katie, wondering when he was going to get another snicker doodle.

Kendall knocked the heady wooden door, and looked down at Katie, offering her a small smile. Carlos answered the door and looked almost shocked to see them. " Carlos, hi. I was wondering if Mr. Diamond was home, I would like to apologize to him and Katie wants to do the same," Kendall said. Carlos looked slightly worried but covered it up quickly, when his gaze fell upon Logan. "Oh, this is Logan, my second older brother." Katie nudged Logan.

"Hi." Logan siad shyly and blushing obviously. He flashed Carlos his signature smirk, knowing that Carlos was likely to blush.

"Hi." Carlos blushed, again recovering very quickly. "Please, come in." Turning his body sideways to make more than enough room for the trio to walk into the large mansion.

As soon as they stepped inside the house, soft piano music was heard. Directly in front of the door was the staircases leading up to the second floor. To the right was the dining room, carpeted with soft navy carpeting. The living room held a glamorous crystal chandelier, Kendall could see the kitchen door from where he stood, and to the left was the room where the music was coming from.

"Stay here a moment," Carlos said as he walked over to the man playing the piano. He bent and whispered something in his ear and the music stopped suddenly. The man turned his head and said something. Carlos shrugged and seemed to reply. Kendall could see the man sigh and rub his temples. Carlos whispered something else.

"Sir, young Katie is back. With her brothers. They want to apologize for last night," Carlos said. James stopped playing.

"What? I thought you took the kid home and talked to her parents," James growled.

"I did, but I guess they felt the need to apologize in person," Carlos shrugged. James sighed and hunched over the piano to rub his forehead in frustration.

"It's not that bad, James. You will never see them again, who are they to care?" Carlos tried to comfort him.

"Fine, send them in," James said bitterly.

Carlos smiled approvingly. "Try not to be angry, they're only being nice," Carlos replied as he walked off in the direction of the front hall. Once back he smiled at Kendall, Logan and Katie tilting his head towards the living room. They walked up and Kendall only now noticed how dark the house was kept. Katie held the plate of snicker doodles. And Logan was looking at Carlos' cute bubble butt.

"Mr. Diamond? Hi, my name is Kendall, I'm Katie's brother, and I just wanted to apologize for what happened last night," Kendall said, but the man still didn't turn around. After a moment of silence he stood and turned.

"Please, call me James. And it's fine." He kept his face slightly down and to the side, like he was looking at something on the floor behind Kendall. Even with his head turned and the darkness of the room Kendall could still see scars on his face. He spoke with a Californian accent and Kendall couldn't help but find it attractive.

"Katie has something she would like to say." Kendall nudged Katie forward.

"I'm sorry for trespassing and I hope you won't hold it against us and here's some snicker doodles, as a peace offering." she sighed, looking up at James. James looked down at Katie and his face showed discomfort and nervousness.

"I really hope she didn't disturb you too much, if there's anything I could do to help, you just need to ask," Kendall offered. At that moment Carlos wandered in and began cleaning. It was obvious he was trying to listen in. While dusting he 'accidentally' flipped the light switch.

"Oops," he said innocently. Kendall and Logan saw James 's face completely and swallowed to hold back a gasp.

"Carlos!" James growled.

"What, I'm just cleaning." Carlos shrugged innocently.

"You're a bad liar, Carlos. And a worse butler, get out of here," James nodded towards the front hall.

"But I was just-"

" Carlos!" James shouted. Carlos threw his hands into the air and wandered out. James cursed silently, and for the first time met Kendall's eye.

"There was no property damage. You're apology is accepted." He looked down at Katie

Who was still holding the pate of cookies.

"What about the broken fountain?" Carlos called out from the front hall. James sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Get out of here, Carlos!" he screamed at him. Footsteps could be heard walking up the stairs, grumbles mixed with breaths of frustration receding from the room. "I swear-" James muttered to himself.

"I would be happy to fix anything that's broken, including the fountain. I'm good with my hands and I have construction experience," Kendall said. James sighed. Logan coughed and Katie roamed the room with her curious mind.

James rubbed his scared temples. "Really, it's fine. I can pay someone to do it," James said.

"Please, let me fix it. Think of it as…neighbors helping each other out" Kendall suggested

Katie sighed. "We live four blocks from him, I don't think we are very clo-."

"Katie." Kendall warned.

James was about to agree with Katie, when from upstairs he heard Carlos. "He is thankful for your help and will gladly accept it!" He shouted.

James growled and stormed halfway up the stairs. Katie and Logan giggled quietly.

"I swear to god, Carlos, I will fire you!" James shouted up the stairs.

"No you won't!" Carlos shouted back down.

"No, I won't. But I will cut your pay cheque in half!" James shouted. There was a moment of silence before Carlos was heard again.

"That's still more than a doctor would make in a year," Carlos retorted and James couldn't help but chuckle.

"What?!" Logan yelled. "How much more?' He inquired. He was almost in shock, but by the looks of the house, he guessed that it was expected that the handsome Latin butler would be paid handsomely, as well.

Carlos giggled from above. "I don't tell until the third date." He cooed.

Logan smirked, breaking out into a full on grin. "You're on."

"I'll pick you up, tonight at 7!" Carlos smiled. As he walked back downstairs. "JAMES! I'm taking the night off!" He yelled.

"Fine!" James replied. He turned to Kendall and sighed. "I guess, I will be thankful for your help," he said to Kendall.

"Alright then, do you mind if I get started this afternoon?" Kendall asked, it was still early and he could at least take note of what he needed to buy to fix the fountain.

"Whatever you like," James said. He sat down at the piano and turned the page of sheet music he had been playing. He began playing once more and Kendall assumed it was the end of the conversation. He left the grand house and returned home. After calling a babysitter for Kendall he grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil, along with some other materials and headed back to James 's house. He began looking at the old fountain and saw the part that had broken when Kendall had tripped and fell into it.

"Wait!" Katie called. "Where do you want these cookies?!" She asked, looking so lost. "And Can I stay here, while Kendall does his stuff, don't wanna be home alone." She said quietly. She flashed James her famous puppy eyes and pouty lips and sue enough, James sighed and agreed.

* * *

Kendall had just begun repairing it when he found that the fountain had been badly built. Obviously whoever had built it had no clue what they were doing and had thrown together some pipework and cement to create what would serve as a fountain. He stepped inside the spotless house and heard Carlos bustling around in the kitchen talking to Logan about stuff, while James still sat at his piano and Katie sat in the kitchen, doing her over abundant homework.

"The whole fountain should come down," he said. James turned, and once again Kendall fought not to react at his face.

"What?" he asked.

"The fountain. It's built by someone who obviously didn't know what they were doing. I can rebuild the whole thing for you, it would be pointless to just fix that one piece," Kendall shrugged. James thought for a second.

"Alright then. Do what you like to the fountain. If its anything major, consult Carlos. I don't care much about it but god knows that man does," James laughed. Kendall smiled and Carlos looked at them from the kitchen. As Kendall was leaving he heard James call out to him.

"Also, help yourself to anything you would like in the kitchen. If there's nothing in there, then feel free to request something. Carlos is an excellent cook," James added, awkwardly. As though starting a conversation was new to him.

Kendall smiled. "Thank you."

James nodded before turning back to his piano. Once Kendall was outside again, writing down what he thought he would need, he noticed he didn't hear piano music. He was wondering what James was doing but knew it would be awkward to just go in and look. As soon as he was done he headed home and thought about James and what had happened to him. It was obvious he was extremely bitter about... well... everything. But he seemed to be the best of friends with Carlos. It seemed like Carlos was the only one he could trust. Kendall wondered if they slept together…

_'What? Where did that come from. He gave you no hint that he was gay,_' Kendall thought to himself. He shrugged, _'doesn't mean I can't dream_.' He crawled into bed and had sweet dreams of James.

* * *

James tossed and turned in his sleep.

_The thundering music of the nightclub hurt his ears. He sighed and sipped his drink while looking around the room. Jett stood in the center of the dance floor, with two young men dancing around him. The blonde haired, thin, men looked like dolls. James sighed. He had dragged him here and didn't even want to dance with him. What was the point? He sat down his barely touched drink and paid before heading out. As he was going, a man stopped him at the door._

_"You wanna dance?" he yelled over the music. James hesitated, but he wasn't like Jett._

_"I'm taken, sorry," he replied._

_"At least you're honest enough to say 'no'. Most guys just lie, I'll give you points for that," the guy said with a smile before walking off. He exited the club and began walking to the parking lot. He felt a hand on his arm and was spun around roughly._

_"Who the fuck was that?" Jett asked._

_"I don't know, some guy," James shrugged. Now he would have two bruises on his arm._

_"Why the hell were you talking to him?" Jett asked._

_"I wasn't. He just asked me if I wanted to dance," James answered honestly._

_"What the fuck, you cheating on me?" Jett's rage was building and her face was turning an ugly shade of crimson._

_"What? No, how did you get that out of some stranger just asking me to dance?"_

_"Don't talk to me like that. We're going home, now." Jett dragged him by the wrist to his car and drove home in silent anger. James knew when Jett got mad that he could get out of control. He only hoped Carlos was home. When they arrived at his house he saw that the car Carlos normally used to run errands was gone. It was only ten and he could be out for quite awhile._

_"Fucking whore, who the hell do you think you are to cheat on me?" Jett yelled once they were inside._

_"I didn't cheat on you Jett, and I never have. Please don't call me names," James tried to keep calm. He wasn't surprised when Jett smacked him across the cheek that already had a bruise on it from earlier. He landed on the floor with a thud and hit his head on the cold tile. His vision blurred and his limbs felt like jelly._

_"Stupid slut, I'll make it so no one will ever touch you again," Jett said. The last thing James saw was the silvery blade of the knife._


End file.
